Hello from the shores of Lake Superior, Wisconsin!

I'm a newbie with an advanced case of UAS. Just learning chords, need help with strums. My guitar-playing brother-in-law claims it would be more correct to keep the thumb behind the neck. My thumb takes exception to such abuse. Is he correct? So far in the mostly 2nd-hand stable: Amahi (38mm at nut!! Hooray for fat fingers!) concert, Lanikai CKCGC, Lanikai LU6 (plays wonderfully), Lanikai CKC bari. New Pono ATD tenor still in the case. It came with Worth browns and a wound and sounds terrible. To the luthier it goes. Looking for a uke group in northwest Wisconsin. And a soprano 35mm or more at nut, for travel.
PS: Highly recommend uke play for hand injuries/arthritis. The variety of instruments keeps me interested and the P.T. is almost effortless!

Greetings and welcome, glad you joined us. Thumb behind neck generally accepted as the better way, but many ukers out there just do what feels best for them.

Welcome to UU. Where are you in Wisconsin? You might be interested in the annual SCIUC (Silver Creek International Ukulele Carinval) that is held near Duluth in August (mark your calendar).

As for thumb position, I am not an expert, but I am a music educator with some opinions. The location of the thumb depends on the chord you are playing, the scale of the instrument (soprano, concert, etc), and the size of your hand. I just wouldn't suggest wrapping the thumb around the next to play notes on the 4th string.

iThe one situation where you generally always want the thumb behind the neck are barre chords, so you can get the pressure you need to hold all four strings down at the same time.

Thanks for the help with the thumb. I noticed the instructor on Hawaiian Music Store vids holds his thumb behind the neck for barre chords, and also encourages using the last 3 fingers for most 3-fingered chords in order to leave the forefinger free to barre when needed. Time to start building up finger/hand strength! I live in Ashland, about 65 miles east of Duluth. What dates in August? I have a plein air event in Port Wing the first week. Thank you for your welcome!

Thank you!

mkwms said:

What dates in August?

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2017 Silver Creek International Ukulele Carnival
August 18-20

Welcome aboard.

Thank you!